J&K State Cooperative Bank General Body Seeks Fresh Board Elections, Opposes External Interference

Srinagar, Feb 14:
The Jammu & Kashmir State Cooperative Bank on Saturday held its Annual General Body Meeting (AGBM) at Hotel Grand Kaiser, drawing a large participation of shareholders along with the bank’s Managing Director and representatives of employees.
At the outset, the General Body unanimously elected a chairman to preside over the proceedings. During the meeting, members deliberated on several key institutional and governance issues concerning the functioning of the bank and passed a resolution through a unanimous voice vote.
The shareholders voiced strong dissatisfaction over the conduct of the Returning Officer, SDM (East) Zubair Ahmad Bhat, in connection with the recent elections for the bank’s Board of Directors. The house formally condemned the manner in which the elections were conducted and demanded that the electoral process be resumed from the stage where it had earlier been halted.
The General Body also reaffirmed that the appointment of the Managing Director falls within the domain of the duly elected Board of Directors and asserted that there should be no external interference in the process.
Raising employee-related concerns, members urged the authorities to release all pending benefits and service dues of employees without delay, stressing that staff welfare should remain a priority.
On the issue of the proposed bifurcation of banking operations between Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, the house resolved that any major structural decision must be taken only by the elected Board of Management. It further decided that a committee of experts would be constituted by the Board to examine the matter in detail and submit recommendations after comprehensive deliberations.
The meeting concluded with a formal vote of thanks to the chair and participants.